Under Vegeta's shocked gaze, a layer of gray began spreading from his neck, and soon his entire neck stiffened until he lost all sensation.
More than half of Vegeta's body had already turned to stone.
"You bastard, what the hell is..."
Before he could finish, Vegeta completely turned into a stone statue and plummeted straight toward the ground.
Dabura naturally couldn't let Vegeta shatter into pieces like that. That would be far too wasteful.
He bent down to grab Vegeta—but someone was faster.
Goku had sensed Vegeta's ki suddenly vanish. He instantly transformed into Super Saiyan and shot upward into the sky.
Halfway up, he saw Vegeta's stone body falling toward him. Without a second thought, he reached out and caught it. Vegeta's face was still frozen in an expression of disbelief.
Goku still didn't know what had happened, but he could confirm one thing: this stone statue was definitely Vegeta himself.
Dabura arrived right after and, seeing Goku surrounded by golden flames, frowned and said,
"The same transformation? Looks like you've got a lot of energy in you as well. Good. I'll capture you for Babidi-sama too!"
Holding Vegeta with one arm, Goku freed his other hand and fired a golden ki blast at Dabura, then immediately turned and shot downward.
Most of the time, Goku was far steadier than Vegeta. With Vegeta already taken out, his first thought was to return to Jiren and assess the situation.
Dabura slapped the ki blast aside and snorted coldly,
"Afraid now? It won't be that easy to run. None of you are escaping today!"
With that, he exploded forward with astonishing speed and chased after Goku.
Along the way, he kept spitting saliva. Goku didn't know how dangerous it was, but for hygiene's sake alone, he dodged every drop.
After all, unlike Vegeta, he hadn't rushed straight into Dabura's face with no time to evade.
While dodging, he complained,
"Hey! What's wrong with you?! If you wanna fight, then fight! Why spit everywhere?! That's disgusting!"
Goku grumbled as he returned to Jiren's side. Jiren glanced at the petrified Vegeta and thought to himself that this was exactly what he expected.
Dabura had already caught up, but he hadn't even looked at Jiren. His targets were locked on Goku and Vegeta—the two golden-haired ones.
As for Jiren, who didn't even have hair, he clearly wasn't the same species, so Dabura simply treated him as some random passerby.
He opened his mouth to spit again. Jiren frowned, raised a hand, and made a light swatting motion toward the air. A palm made of compressed air slammed straight into Dabura's face.
"Pff!!!"
Dabura spat a mouthful of blood as his body spun.
He spun for quite a while before stopping. His head was ringing, and he still hadn't figured out what had just happened.
Jiren had been far too merciful. The force he used was about the same as a normal person swatting a mosquito. If he had used even a little more power, Dabura's head would have separated from his body.
In this way, he was very much like Zephyr—upholding a justice that refused to kill.
Babidi looked at the bright red handprint on Dabura's cheek and, for once, actually asked,
"Are you okay?"
Dabura's face was completely numb. He shook his head in a daze, then looked at Jiren with fear.
He moved his lips and squeezed out a sentence,
"Babidi-sama... maybe we should leave this place first!"
Babidi froze. In his eyes, Dabura had only taken a slap. It didn't seem that serious.
However, the now-clear-headed Dabura understood perfectly well—this gray, bald giant was the true monster here.
Having spent years beside Gods of Destruction and Angels, Jiren was no stranger to unusual powers like magic. Such abilities often produced unexpected effects, and Vegeta had clearly fallen victim to one.
He looked up at Dabura and said in a deep voice,
"No matter what you did just now, I want you to lift this man's petrification. Otherwise..."
A blazing red glow radiated from Jiren's body. Goku and Piccolo immediately broke into a cold sweat and hurriedly moved away from him.
This was just a tiny amount of Jiren's leaking aura. Babidi and his group, who were directly locked onto by it, felt as though a mountain had collapsed on top of them, making it nearly impossible to breathe.
Dabura forced out every bit of power he had while also trying to shield Babidi. Trembling, he shouted,
"Babidi-sama! Try using your magic to control him! I can't hold out much longer!"
Babidi finally realized how serious the situation was. He muttered a rapid spell, attempting to trigger the evil within Jiren's heart and seize control of him.
But Jiren, who had trained to this level, possessed a will of iron. Babidi's tricks had absolutely no effect.
Jiren stepped toward them, his overwhelming pressure crushing Babidi's small underlings. The spaceship completely collapsed with a loud crack.
The sealed egg containing Majin Buu was exposed.
Suddenly, Kaito's voice echoed in Jiren's ears,
"Jiren, finish off those two, then bring the egg to me."
Jiren's body trembled. At last, his expression changed. He stopped walking and answered with difficulty,
"Dragon God-sama... you want me to kill them?"
"Yes. I know your principles, but there are things you should learn from a man named Sakazuki. When facing evil, unnecessary mercy is an insult to Justice. Remember—those two before you are beyond redemption. Do it."
"But Vegeta..."
"You don't need to worry about that. Once the red-skinned one dies, Vegeta will return to normal."
Hearing this, Jiren's eyes hardened. He chose to follow Kaito's command.
Babidi and Dabura had no idea their fate had changed so drastically within such a short moment. Babidi was still sweating as he pushed his magic, and Dabura shouted anxiously,
"Babidi-sama, not yet?! I can't hold much longer!"
"Just a bit more—almost..."
Before he could finish, Jiren's eyes blazed red. In an instant, several blasts of ki struck Babidi and Dabura. They didn't even have time to scream before they were reduced to dust.
After everything was done, Jiren felt strangely clearer inside. He turned toward Vegeta and saw that the stone on his body was already beginning to fade. He would return to normal any moment.